Ray of Hope presents The Kids Cupboard.

That’s a food pantry designed specifically to meet the basic needs of children who are living in homeless or insecure situations while lacking the proper nutrition.

The pantry – the first for San Joaquin County, according to Ray of Hope Executive Director Laura Saunders – can be found in the Ray of Hope Children’s Crisis Center at 113 W. Yosemite Ave. in Manteca.

It’s due to open in September.

The Kids Cupboard will be conducted via appointment-only per referring agencies to help assure that children receive complete services for all of their needs.

Saunders added that the pantry is designed to supply food to children with the specific purpose of assuring healthy nutritional food for complete meals.

The plan can also be modified “so that children in homeless situations or those who have no food or electricity to cook can still make a meal,” she said.

Saunders noticed that when Ray of Hope moved in its current location above the Manteca Beduarters, the upstairs facility had a full kitchen.

“My first thought was that we can transform this into a food pantry (for children),” she recalled.

The Ray of Hope goal is to assure that all children, including with medical conditions such as diabetes, for example, can have access to those certain foods and others.

“Every child’s circumstances and needs are different,” Saunders said.

The Kids Cupboard is looking for donors to help fill the cupboards of the facility specifically for children in the community.

“We will be having nutrition experts to help us design inexpensive yet healthy meals,” said Saunders.

For more information, call Ray of Hope at 209.883.6255 or 209.597.0574.